From shelter to strength: How disaster refuges protect lives in Palau

Palau’s biodiversity is threatened by rising sea levels.

Climate change, a personal issue

For Techitong, these climate related hazards are deeply personal.

“I fear the places I grew up in might be underwater in the next decades,” he said. “I don’t want future generations to only hear stories about what Palau used to be. That’s what drives me.”

Today, he works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Palau alongside the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO), overseeing the strengthening of climate-resilient disaster shelters across the country.

Techitong visits one of the IOM-supported disaster shelters.

Strengthening national resilience

Techitong’s work is part of a broader effort by the United Nations to support Palau’s resilience to the adverse effects of extreme weather events through an integrated, long-term approach.

The UN works alongside the Government of Palau and civil society across four interconnected pillars: People, planet, prosperity, and peace.

Building community resilience to extreme weather events and strengthening disaster risk reduction cuts across all four of these pillars, as resilience is not only environmental, but also social, economic and institutional.

The shelters Techitong oversees put this vision into practice.

Techitong speaks to one of the construction workers building shelters.

The shelters are designed to function as a connected national network of safe spaces accessible to all people during emergencies.

Built to withstand high winds, heavy rainfall and flooding, they will be equipped with typhoon shutters, rainwater catchment systems, solar lighting, generators, and water filtration systems.

Four out of the eight shelters have already been strengthened and handed over to the community in Palau.

“The strengthened shelters consider the needs of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable people, so no one is left behind during emergencies,” said Alex Iyar, a community member involved in the consultations that led to the development of this project.

Beyond infrastructure, the project is strengthening local capacity. Community-based Red Cross Disaster Action Teams are being trained to manage shelters before, during and after emergencies, reinforcing local leadership and ownership.

It gives me hope that my children still be able to enjoy the best parts of Palau that I grew up with.

Addressing displacement risk and protecting social cohesion

Across the Pacific, climate displacement is increasingly common. According to IOM data on global displacement trends, weather-related disasters have triggered hundreds of millions of internal displacements over the past decade.

Disaster events are fundamentally reshaping patterns of mobility worldwide, disproportionately affecting small island States like Palau.

While disaster shelters cannot stop the sea from rising, they can buy time, protect lives and help communities remain rooted for as long as possible.

For Di Maech, a local Palauan conservation worker, this matters deeply. “In Palau, our communities are learning, growing, and finding ways to be resilient in the face of disasters thanks to UN-supported projects.

“It gives me hope that my children still be able to enjoy the best parts of Palau that I grew up with.”

UN Micronesia/Carlota Nunez

Di Maech is a Palauan conservation worker.

Investing in youth leadership

IOM’s Techitong believes the shelters are central to national resilience. “These shelters are not just emergency refuges, they are community hubs that support preparedness, connection and adaptation,” he said.

Techitong still swims in the ocean when he can. The water remains beautiful, powerful and deeply familiar, even as it carries new uncertainty.

“I grew up learning how to move with the waves,” he says. “Now my work is about making sure our communities can do the same. Adapt, protect each other, and keep Palau standing.”

UN Micronesia/Carlota Nunez

Young Palauans play volleyball in Kuabes park, an area that could be underwater in the next 30 years.